Redtail Rise Melt

It was a picture-perfect spring day.

Moon Runner had saved a nice, meaty piece of vertebrae for her siblings to play with. She carried the prize toward Mother’s den proudly. A pep was in her step.

It was then, she heard Blood Spot’s, @Masquerade’s, howl for Wealda.

It made the yearling stop like a deer in headlights. There was a conflict within her spirit. She loved Blood Spot, and surely Rolling Thunder was with her, but she also remembered the powerful display of dominance over her parent.

Quickly, Moon Runner urgently picked up the pace and hurried toward the burrow. When she arrived, Moon Runner slunk inside and wuffed for @Tuesday’s Twilight, @Tuesdays Dawn, and @Tuesday Afternoon to show them what she had brought.

cameo unless interacted with!

He’d searched for Masquerade for weeks.

And now she returned to the Rise on her own volition.

What speared him more is her call was addressed to Redd. It was deliberate, measured, subtly acknowledging the fact that her disappearance was on her own accord. 

She chose to leave them. And that was something the boy had secretly wished was untrue. His hopes collapsed like a miserable house of cards. 

All he was left with was a fiery sort of frustration he didn’t know what to do with.

He blames her, Masquerade, for Roamer’s (and maybe even Redsky’s) prolonged disappearance.

But in the end, through his searching—which cost his allegiance to be questioned—he found more of himself. He found that no matter where he went, how far he traveled, he could never leave the Rise.

These thoughts fleet around in his head before he sees the pale form of Moon Runner, rushing with undeniable urgency, toward New Snow’s den. Her near-panic concerns the Berserkr. He feels a wave of protectiveness over her and the pups—he has to protect them from outsiders.

With a low woof, he tails after Moon Runner. 

And once they arrive, the Treow dives into the den.

Briefly, the Berserker pokes his head inside, then turns away and flops onto his belly; a statuesque den guard.

He’s drawn his line in the sand. 

oblivious to the drama surrounding his family, tuesday's dawn was content as ever.
he spent his days with Tall One and Milk Giver (his own way to chime in on his family's practice of giving nicknames), playfully bullying White Boy and Pale Girl who he'd come to know as his siblings. it never truly dawned upon him that there was a world beyond the den. why did he need to go outside? everything he needed was right here!
but sometimes, he was a little curious. today, Big Eyes — his elder sister — came to the den with a souvenir from her otherworldly travels. it smells weird and looks painful in a way tuesday's dawn could not describe. he shuffles forward on wobbly little legs, a suspicious furrow knit deep in his boyish brows. he glances up at her as if to ask, what the hell am i looking at?

There was no way to know Blood Spot’s intention for returning to the Rise, but the former Caru’s departure had left an impression on Moon Runner. They had tried to claim the role of Wealda and, in turn, claim breeding rites to prevent Mother from coupling. It was enough for the Trēow to feel threatened. Her younger siblings were so weak and vulnerable. The wilds could be an unsympathetic place and it was not unimaginable for the worst to happen to a subordinate’s young should leadership turn over.

Like his namesake, Moon Runner felt the presence of, and then heard, Tall Shadow behind her on the trail. She felt relief to have him with her, now. In the Rise, they each had their parts to play. She was the caretaker, he was the protector, and Moon Runner trusted him explicitly.

When she was in the burrow, Moon Runner took a head count. She could hear Tall Shadow lay down outside the mouth of the den and, like a yin-yang symbol, she took up a mirrored position on the inside. With each pup safe and accounted for, Moon Runner calmed herself and turned her attention to them.

Pebble was the first to approach her. Moon Runner reached out to clean his face with loving bumps and snuffles. Then, she showed him how to gnaw on the bone by taking one end in the corner of her mouth and crunched loudly with her carnassial teeth.

The howl brought great concern to New Snow. She, like Mountain Boulder, thought but one thing—and as they two wordlessly communicated the thoughts in disconcerted rumbles, he was off to guard their newest and most helpless litter. 

New Snow surrounded her cubs. The sound of any approaching was met with a warning snarl, but she was quick to recognize her daughters scent and felt comfort. New Snow kept around the cubs, watched them interact with one another, and permitted the nearness of Moon Runner.

The sound of another approaching. Bristling, New Snow nudged past her daughter and moved just beyond the mouth of the den—but when she saw it was the Rise’s newest guardlead, she greeted him with a grateful whuff. She trusted the boy that she thought of as another son, and felt relief to know he was there to protect their family. 

Hunkering down, she watched with soft eyes her elder daughter and her cubs. 

skippable!

Big Eyes works her way into the den and settles beside him, leaving a trail of big, wet kisses all over his face. sure, he'd just stuffed his belly with milk not too long ago, but was this really necessary? he grumbles and averts his beady little eyes, but tolerates the interaction.
then, once she'd finished, she moves her attention over to the Large Obstructive Object. tuesday's dawn leans over to sniff it curiously before letting out a little grunt of bewilderment. he watches her as her jaws part and wrap halfway around one end of the bone, teeth sinking into the bits of flesh and tendon that cling to it. he is positively fascinated. up until now, the boy had almost forgotten biting was a thing he could do!
and so, he lowers himself down to the Large Obstructive Object and does what any child his age would attempt to do — he mirrors Big Eyes, tiny jaws wrapped around the other end, and chomps down as hard as he can.
and then he tries to drag it away, heaving with all the force his little body can muster.

The siblings peaceably gnawed the vertebrae together, though the moment quickly lapsed. It appeared Pebble learned the notion of mine and quickly acted to take the new resource away. If he were older, Moon Runner might have corrected her brother, but the tolerant Trēow was generous and amused. She loosed a playful growl but didn’t relent in her purchase of the long bone.

Despite his antics, the feeling of a looming threat did not leave the back of Moon Runner’s mind. Mother and Tall Shadow felt this too.

However, it was not long before she heard Blod Spot’s second howl. Moon Runner forfeited her position in their game of tug-o-war. Her head popped up, ears swiveling to receive the message. The crooning alluded to that she was not here to claim the Rise. Her song was sad. Apologetic. Warm.

Not long after, Father howled his own message for all to hear. A send-off. Well-wishes.

Moon Runner felt peaceful -- the threat abated.